The second day of testimony from Michael Jackson's mother Katherine continued on Monday, very much like it began on Friday. Katherine was understandably emotional, but stood her ground when defending the reputation of her son. The Jackson family is suing concert promoter AEG Live, alleging that it pushed the performer too hard and hired Conrad Murray, the doctor responsible for administering a fatal dose of propofol to the pop star in 2009.
Despite the cause of death being what it was, Katherine seemed to teeter between whether she believed her son had a drug problem or not. Clips were played of an interview Katherine did with Oprah Winfrey in 2010 where she stated that she wasn't sure she believed Jackson had been "clean." She admitted that at the time she "didn't know what to believe." However she stated firmly that even if Murray was not the source of Michael's drug problem, he had the power to say no when requested for powerful painkillers like propofol. She accused AEG on standing by while his health deteriorated.
"They could have called me. He was asking for his father. My grandson told me that (Michael) was scared; he was asking for Joseph," she said, tears welling up. "They watched him waste away, from what I can hear."
Katherine was upset with some of the questions from AEG's defense lawyer Marvin Putnam, including his queries as to whether Michael's father Joe Jackson ever "beat" her. In a statement made outside of the courthouse, Putnam said he believed Katherine was suffering from an idealized vision of her deceased son, and she didn't want it scuffed.
"As Katherine Jackson has now testified, she was in the dark about her son Michael Jackson's decades of drug use and 'closes her ears' whenever someone discloses anything negative about him," he said. "She doesn't want anyone or anything to disturb her idealized memory of the child she lost. Who can blame her?"
